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GANNETT MICHIGAN

Talkin' Spartans: Looking at NBA draft, 2014-15 MS...: In this episode of Talkin' Spartans the LSJ's Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press' Joe Rexrode look at the upcoming NBA draft and how the summer is shaping up for the 2014-15 men's basketball season. Dave Wasinger/LSJ.com

College: MSU senior Vitals: 6-1, 185 shooting guard; 11.2 points, 4.5 assists. Pro: Outstanding defender and athlete who could excel as a change-of-pace point guard because he pushes the ball well. Con: A wrist injury robbed Appling of his shot and confidence as a senior, and he needs both to have a chance.

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EAST LANSING — Each has worked out for eight teams, including four of the same teams, and they’ve been all over the mock drafts and heard all the trade rumors and learned all about pre-draft misinformation.

“It’s like I hear a lot about Minnesota because of Kevin Love (possibly being traded), but who knows?” Adreian Payne said.

“Honestly, man,” said Gary Harris, Payne’s teammate at Michigan State, “I know just about as much as you know at this point. You just don’t know what’s going to happen, especially with all the crazy trade talk going around.”

Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Harris and Payne get the real information – both are expected to be first-round picks and could be lottery picks (top 14) – in what is shaping up to be a wild NBA draft. With stars such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Love potentially changing addresses in the offseason, countless real and fabricated deals are on the table.

MSU coach Tom Izzo will be in Brooklyn with his two stars from last season’s Elite Eight run, watching them become the seventh and eighth first-rounders of his tenure and draft picks No. 14 and 15. Keith Appling could be No. 16 if he goes in the second round, as two NBA franchises have made Izzo think is very possible.

But then, he’s not sure he’s seen this much duplicity leading into a draft.

“Everybody is posturing and nobody wants to give up anything – it’s getting more bizarre, it’s getting more secretive and crazy if you ask me,” Izzo said. “It’s been amazing. What I’ve found is everybody’s asking me, ‘Where do you think they’re going?’ Well, they’re asking me and they’re the GMs, which means really they’re just fishing for information. There’s so many different things going on with this draft.”

And there are several potential landing spots for the 6-foot-3 Harris and the 6-10 Payne, who combined for 33.1 points per game last season for the Spartans. Both have worked out for Philadelphia (No. 3 and 10 picks), Boston (6, 17), Phoenix (14, 18 and 27) and Atlanta (15).

The workouts are “intense,” Payne said, and he continues to battle through the lingering effects of mononucleosis that hit him at some point during his senior season. Payne said he’s “about 90% right now,” and he has left some auditions exhausted after drills and 1-on-1, 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 games.

“This process has been a roller coaster, a grind, and it’s definitely a challenge,” Harris said. “It’s not all fun and games. These are job interviews and they’re not just physically challenging, they’re mentally challenging as well.”

When not traveling to workouts, Harris has been based in Los Angeles and his hometown of Fishers, Ind. Payne has been in Chicago, living in an apartment with fellow Priority Sports client and former Michigan star Nik Stauskas.

The MSU-Michigan rivalry continues tonight in a playful way, with Harris, Payne and Stauskas all having a shot to be the first of the three taken. What matters more, of course, is fit and the chance to stick in a job and get a bigger payday with a second deal.

That’s the main message Izzo has delivered to Harris and Payne as he has tried to help decode their draft prospects.

Payne, in particular, is tough to peg tonight – Izzo said he believes some teams around No. 10 are serious about him but also could see him falling into the 20s. Payne’s talent and steady progress at MSU are undeniable, but at 23 he has less “upside” than younger prospects in the eyes of some.

To Izzo, Payne’s upside is “enormous” because he didn’t really start playing the game until junior high.

“I think he’ll stay grounded because he’s kind of been that way his whole life, and hopefully have a good career in that league instead of a cup of coffee,” Izzo said of Payne. “There’s a lot of first-round picks that are having cups of coffee in that league now, and that’s kind of showing you two things. That it’s not a pure science in selecting. But two, sometimes the higher-selected guys get fat and sassy and forget where they came from and somebody’s passing them by.

“The process kind of gets some people. I think both Gary and Adreian have hung in there with the process pretty good.”